Fraud impacts all individuals and organizations. Regardless of size, structure, geography, or demographics, every organization is subject to fraud. Many individuals refer to fraud red flags, which are signs that indicate the potential for fraud to occur. Red flags do not mean that fraud has occurred.

This course will focus on the top occupational fraud schemes identified in the 2024 ACFE Fraud Report to the Nations. Occupational fraud refers to fraud committed by an organization's employees. The ACFE fraud tree delineates the three major categories of fraud as follows:

• Corruption
• Asset Misappropriation
• Financial Statement Fraud

There are many presentations on “top frauds.” Be cognizant of how the presenter is focusing the discussion. Top frauds could relate to various areas. Examples of top fraud schemes include financial statement fraud, revenue disclosures and presentations, cyber and internet fraud, asset misappropriation, and corruption.

In this course, we review information on the top fraud schemes by focusing on the three categories defined by the ACFE fraud tree. We also evaluate the most common schemes by industry and deterrent methods and internal controls to help mitigate fraud.

Note: Information within this course comes from readily available public domain documents and is utilized by the trainer as a supplement for relaying the course content.